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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25262218">If Bianca Had Survived</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account'>orphan_account</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Percy Jackson and the Olympians &amp; Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Other</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 06:55:18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>10,791</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25262218</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>This is sort of like a Pjo retelling, but if Bianca hadn't died in book 3. I tried my best to keep the events that happened in the books accurately. The Notes before every chapter will explain when in the timeline we are; I wasn't going to rewrite the entire series from Bianca's perspective.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bianca di Angelo &amp; Nico di Angelo, Silena Beauregard &amp; Clarisse la Rue, Silena Beauregard/Charles Beckendorf</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This first part takes place just after Annabeth has disappeared over the side of the mountain, and Artemis is asking Bianca to join the Hunters. I changed this part so she says no, (Don't panic, she joins later) because I think that wasn't a logical thing for her to do without checking the camp out first.<br/>Also, I've aged her and Nico up so that she is 13 and he is 11, it just makes more sense to me that way.<br/>I also changed the age of the Hunters, because them being middle schoolers doesn't make any sense.</p>
    </blockquote><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Welcome to "If Bianca had survived". For the three people reading this, I am so glad you are here. I'm well aware this is low-key trash, but I've just gotta get these thoughts outta my head.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>My name is Bianca di Angelo, and I have no idea what is going on right now. My little brother, Nico, and I were just attacked by our principal and these three other kids just lost their friend over the side of a cliff. Oh, and we can't forget about the group of girls in silver coats, with bows pointed at our heads.<br/>
Currently, I am sitting in one of the girls'-the Hunters'-tents. I have no idea where Nico went. I was reluctant to leave him alone, but there were enough people around that I could trust he wouldn't just run off and get lost without someone seeing him. Besides, this girl-who introduced herself as the goddess Artemis, which was a wild thought in itself- would only talk to me without a male in the room.<br/>
"I want to invite you to join the Hunt," Artemis said.<br/>
The Hunt, like the group of girls that surrounded us? That sounded amazing, so I'm sure there was a catch.<br/>
"What are the conditions to join?" I asked carefully. I didn't want to disrespect her, after all.<br/>
"You will become immortal, as long as you do not die in combat, but you must swear off the company of men and remain a maiden forever." Artemis put it very simply.<br/>
That actually sounded pretty great- being immortal, getting to hang out with a group of strong girls, but swearing off men...<br/>
"Does that mean I would never see my brother again?"<br/>
Artemis gave me a small smile. "Yes," she said, "You wouldn't be able to live with him, see him unless it was relevant to a mission, and you wouldn't be able to visit him for long even then."<br/>
Never see Nico again? Well... never see him whenever I wanted to. What would happen to him, who would take care of him?<br/>
As if she could read my thoughts, Artemis said, "Your brother will go to the camp where those other kids go. He will be taken care of and taught to fight."<br/>
"But I wouldn't be able to stay there with him?"<br/>
"No."<br/>
I thought about this. I wanted to join the Hunters. I had no qualms about swearing off romantic relationships and fighting monsters. I wanted to be free. But at the same time... I didn't know if this was the right fit for me. I had never even been to this camp Nico was supposed to be going to! How did I know that wasn't where I belonged?<br/>
I turned back to the goddess. "If I choose not to join now, does your offer still stand if I decide to join in the future?"<br/>
She considered for a moment. "Yes," she decided, "but the younger a teenager you are, the better. The average age of my Hunters is fifteen, and I wouldn't want you to feel out of place among them."<br/>
I nodded.<br/>
"I'll ask Zoe to escort you out."<br/>
A girl with long black hair tied in a braid stood up from sharpening her knife. She had a delicate silver crown resting on her head. She obviously held some sort of importance among the group.<br/>
"Please know," she whispered to me, "If thy wishes to join us, all thy need to do is pray to Lady Artemis and someone will come to rescue thou from the horrible company of men."<br/>
I was a little concerned by her apparent unwarranted hatred of men but chose to ignore it and stay polite. "Thank you, Zoe."<br/>
She leads me to the group of kids from before. Nico was in the middle of harassing the black-haired boy. He saw me approach and pointed me out to Nico, probably to give him something else to harass.<br/>
"Nico," I chide, "be polite."<br/>
He pouts. I notice Thalia, the girl from before, give a weird look to Zoe, who glares back at her before turning to me.<br/>
"Remember what I told thou, Bianca. And best of luck."<br/>
She walked away with one final look at Thalia.<br/>
"What did she tell you, Bianca?" Nico queried, his eyes huge.<br/>
I leaned down and ruffled his hair. "She invited me to join this group of girls here, but then I wouldn't be able to go see this new place with you, so I told her no."<br/>
He seemed much calmer after that, but he still grabbed my hand tight, afraid I would leave him anyway.<br/>
We watched the Hunters go about their life for about two seconds before the black-haired boy blurts, "When are we going to go find Annabeth? We need to get back to camp ASAP so we can save her. We need to go NOW. What are they waiting for?"<br/>
Thalia put a hand on his shoulder."I know, Percy. I want to find her too, but there isn't much we can do while these insufferable Hunters get their butts moving."<br/>
The boy-Percy- got a dark look in his eyes and crosses his arms.<br/>
"Grover," Thalia snapped her fingers like she has an idea, "Why don't you Iris-Message Chiron and tell him the scenario. He'll listen about Annabeth."<br/>
The boy with curly hair, Grover, nodded and walked off a little deeper into the woods.<br/>
"What's an Iris-Message?" Nico wondered aloud.<br/>
"Shh, Nico," I told him, "Not right now."<br/>
A lot happened in the next few minutes. Grover came back from the woods, Nico asked Percy several questions about this camp we were going to, and another few about his personal life (Including if this Annabeth girl was his girlfriend, to which he responded no and I scolded Nico for), but the craziest event was a huge convertible coming from the sky and turning into a bus. The driver introduced himself as Apollo. We rode this bus to the camp, which is an experience I have no interest in reliving. To sum it up, Thalia needs to work on her bus driving.<br/>
We finally got out of the bus and back on solid ground.<br/>
"Chiron!" Percy ran over to him and began pestering him with questions, all of which involved the word "Annabeth". I was busy helping Nico off the bus, but I turned toward them when he began to respond. I wanted to know how I would be able to help. That was a mistake. I saw that he was half-horse. A centaur. There was a centaur in front of me. It was the last straw for my mind. It was done handling crazy events for the day. The world spun and went to black</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>After the last chapter, Bianca was sent to the infirmary because she passed out. She was fine, but Nico was freaking out.  This part takes place the day after last part</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>instead of Bianca going on the quest( she wouldn't since she isnt a hunter now) Artemis sends Phoebe in her place. Grover and Thalia still represent chb, and Percy sneaks out to accompany them</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Nico, I swear I'm fine"<br/>
"But Bianca!"<br/>
"Nico!"<br/>
My brother gave me his puppy eyes, but I wasn't going to fall for it. It was midday on... Saturday, maybe? I wasn't actually sure what day of the week it was. It was the day after our bus had crashed. One day since that Annabeth girl had gone missing. But it was definitely a day since we got here because I was about to be discharged from the infirmary. Grover came to me early this morning, so early it was still pitch-black outside, and told me his suspicions of where he thought we came from: We had been put in the Lotus Casino so we wouldn't age, but then were freed when he, Percy, and Annabeth shut down the hotel. We were sent to a boarding school by a representative from our father and... ended up here. He also told me that he and Thalia would be going to look for Annabeth most likely and to ask a cabin counselor for a tour if I wanted one. I had thanked him but was still very confused. Why did I need to see a counselor? Did I need counseling? I had chosen to ignore it though since Grover had seemed very distraught. Probably over this Annabeth girl everyone was concerned about. I wondered how many hearts Annabeth had touched in this camp if these many people were tripping over themselves to save her. Mamma used to always say: "The people that are missed the most when they are gone are the best people". Oh, Mamma...</p><p>Thankfully, Nico's whining saved me from spiraling down into depression thinking about Mamma. If what Grover said was true, it had been about 60 years, but it only felt like a few months had gone by... I was struggling with that concept, along with the whole thing of the Greek Gods being alive... and one of them was my dad.<br/>
"Nico," I said sternly, "I am fine. I fainted because my mind was on overload, but I am completely fine so I will be leaving as soon as that nice boy gets back with my pain medication."</p><p>As if summoned, the boy in question came around the corner with pills in hand. He was blond, like most of the healers in here, but very young to be doing doctor's work. He was probably Nico's age.<br/>
"Here you go." he squeaked.<br/>
"Thank you."<br/>
I smiled at him, and he scurried away.<br/>
Nico and I left the building and made our way to the big blue house near the strawberry fields. Grover had also told me that this was where we would meet Chiron as long as that was okay and I wasn't going to faint. I wasn't going to pass out (at least, I was pretty sure) and I needed to see someone to figure out what to do. </p><p>I walked up to the front door and knocked. There was no answer. I knocked again, louder this time. Still nothing.<br/>
"Nico, without being rude and obvious, can you check the windows on this floor and see if someone is inside?"<br/>
"Sure!"<br/>
I waited by the door for a few more minutes before Nico came back.<br/>
"There was a man," he explained, "but he wasn't in the room with the door. Maybe an office? I didn't see that horse guy from yesterday."<br/>
Hmmm... that was a little confusing. Who doesn't answer their door? </p><p>I raised my hand to knock again. Before I could, the door opened, and I was almost trampled by a pot-bellied, black-haired man with a can of Diet Coke in his hand.<br/>
"Wh-who are you? What are you doing here?" he grumbled.<br/>
I panicked. Did we go to the wrong place? I didn't want to be intrusive.<br/>
"I'm so sorry, sir," I said, "I was told by a friend that this was where I could find the camp directors here, and I need to speak to them. If this isn't the correct place, could you be so kind as to direct me to where I need to go?"</p><p>Over the weeks of Nico and I being orphans trying to immigrate into the United States, I had learned a few simple rules when dealing with strangers, especially adults.<br/>
Rule 1: always apologize, even if you have no reason to. Then the adult feels in charge again, that they are the more powerful one. Rule 2: explain that someone else gave you directions or information or had misled you. This way, you just seemed like a victim of false information. Rule 3: play on their emotions. Cry, ask for forgiveness or kindness, pretend to be sick or mentally ill. The rules worked pretty well most of the time.</p><p>The man gave me a funny look. "This is where the directors are, but I want to know why you are just standing here outside the door!"<br/>
I sighed in relief. I hadn't been misinformed.<br/>
"No one answered when I knocked" I explained.<br/>
He looked at me with that weird expression again. "Then why didn't you just walk in? It's never locked."<br/>
I began to explain that I didn't want to be rude, but he had already shoved past me and walked away.</p><p>"Look!"<br/>
I turned around from watching the man walk away and saw Nico had already walked inside the house. I ran in to get him.<br/>
"Nico, you can't just-"<br/>
There was a chuckle from the couches on my left. The centaur from last night was there, but... he was a regular man. Had I been imagining things? No wonder Grover thought I needed counseling. I was going crazy.<br/>
"I assure you, Bianca," Chiron said, "Nico is all right. You don't need to stop him. He has got every right to be curious!"<br/>
Nico's eyes glowed at the approval. I winced inside. He was going to use that against me for weeks. My brother skipped around the room, looking at all of the cool things. I watched him for a second, making sure he didn't break anything, before turning back to Chiron. I stifled a scream. He was a centaur again. This was confirmation: I was going insane. </p><p>Chiron saw the look on my face and gave a small laugh. "I forgot I had startled you last night. My apologies. I can go back in my wheelchair if it makes you more comfortable, but my legs were beginning to cramp so I stood up."<br/>
"It's okay," I managed, still eyeing his huge horse body, "I just thought I had gone insane when I walked in and had imagined that you were a centaur last night."<br/>
He nodded in understanding. "I see."<br/>
"Anyway," he continued, "Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. This is a camp for demigods, half-human, half-god. The gods' children. You, my dear, are a demigod. Your brother as well. This is the only place for both of you to be safe, even after we discover who your parents are."<br/>
I took in what he said. Surprisingly, it all made sense. I wasn't sure how, but Nico and I being demigods was just so... right.<br/>
Chiron continued talking when he saw that I understood. "You and Nico will be placed in the cabin of Hermes, the god of travelers until your godly parent claims you. While you are here at camp, you will learn to fight against monsters and how to survive on quests. Do you have any immediate questions? Silena will give you a tour of the camp, and she can answer any questions about what you do and how it works. I'll take any other... concerns, I guess you could say."<br/>
I had several questions, but one stood out as the most important.</p><p>"Do you know what happened to Annabeth?"<br/>
Chiron seemed surprised I had asked this. He composed himself and said, "I have a feeling... but I'm not totally sure. I am sending a quest to find her later today. Why... Why do you ask?"<br/>
I blushed a little, embarrassed. "It's just... she went missing because she was coming to rescue Nico and me from those monsters. I feel bad."<br/>
Chiron gave me a sad smile. "Don't feel guilty, Bianca. Annabeth knows that every mission, no matter how simple, is risky for a demigod. She wouldn't blame you."<br/>
That made me feel much better. I liked to consider myself an unproblematic person and did not want that to change. Especially in this new place.
 "Other than that," I said, "I don't think I have any immediate questions... unless you can tell me who my dad is."<br/>
I looked at him hopefully, but I was not surprised to see his understanding look. "I cannot," he told me, "I'm sorry."</p><p>There was a small pause in which Nico screamed because he discovered that the stuffed leopard could move.<br/>
"That is so cool!" he shouted.<br/>
I shook my head at him and laughed.<br/>
"I'll go get Silena," Chiron called as he left and went down the hallway.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>this part takes place just after the last part, like maybe 5 to 10 minutes after</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i always imagined silena and bianca getting along so i wrote them in my story as good friends, this begins to build on that</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"So the building we just came from was the Big House, and that's where Chiron and Mr. D are most of the time." Silena Beauregard, daughter of Aphrodite, was in charge of giving me a tour of the camp. Nico was going to come with us, but then we ran into Charles Beckendorf and Nico decided he wanted to get his own tour. That was fine with me. I could use a break from being a big sister. I just hoped Beckendorf would forgive Nico's obsessive inquisitiveness.<br/>
"Really?" I wondered aloud, "They couldn't think of a better name?"<br/>
Silena laughed, and it was a beautiful sound. "It was named before I got here, so I'm going to assume as much."</p><p>We made small talk as she took me down to the main portion of the valley. First, we saw the dining area, where each kid sat by their godly parent, as Silena explained. Next, we visited the amphitheater, where all large congregations took place, including the camp's sing-along campfire, and walked by the practice arena, and there were lots of kids fighting with swords or shooting arrows. That looked super interesting to me. We spent the longest time near the cabins. She pointed the Hermes cabin out to me and explained that that is where I needed to go after the tour to introduce myself and gather supplies. She told me which cabin was for which god, and the cabin's counselor (which is when I realized what that word meant) in case I needed help later on.<br/>
"And Cabin 3 is Poseidon's, so Percy is his cabin's counselor" Silena finished.<br/>
"Percy's my age though, why would he be a counselor?"<br/>
Silena looked a little hesitant to answer at first. "Well..." she trailed off, but quickly continued, "Percy's the only one in his cabin. There was this pact..."</p><p>She explained all the details to me. How the eldest three gods had made a pact to not have children because of this prophecy, and how Percy was the only child to be born, besides Thalia, but Thalia was a tree for a while...<br/>
It all made my head spin, but I tried to make sense of it. "There's going to be a war?"<br/>
Silena got really sad all of a sudden, but I suppose I couldn't blame her. I had made it through WWII, I knew how scary wars could be.<br/>
"Yes," she whispered finally, "Unless..."<br/>
"Unless what?"<br/>
"Unless Percy dies."</p><p>I have to admit I wasn't expecting that. I mean, it made sense, but still. I was going to ask why Thalia didn't need to survive for this war to happen, but I realized the answer before I spoke the question: Thalia could join the Hunters, Percy could not. I decided to change the topic since I could tell it was making Silena upset.<br/>
"What if your parent doesn't have a cabin? There are more than twelve Greek gods."<br/>
"I-" Silena looked puzzled. "I'm not sure. I don't think that's ever happened."<br/>
"Well, it's going to one day," I admitted, "But it doesn't look like you'll be prepared."<br/>
"I know," Silena said, "And we are going to need to fighters more than ever..."</p><p>It was a depressing moment.<br/>
"Come on, Bianca. No more sad talk for now."<br/>
Cheering up, Silena took my hand and lead me to another building. </p><p>This one was much smaller, smaller than the cabins, but it was probably the most occupied. Occupied with weapons, that is.<br/>
"The armory!" Silena announced, "I don't come in here much, 'cause Aphrodite isn't much of a fighter, but all demigods need a weapon. I got one from here, and so did every other camper. Well, most campers at least. I know Annabeth..."<br/>
She kept talking but I didn't listen anymore. It was uncharacteristically rude of me, but I was on cloud nine. This place was amazing. It gave me a feeling I hadn't felt since Mamma was alive. I felt like I belonged here. It was weird because I was pretty sure I wasn't destined to live around a bunch of weapons, but I could tell that fighting was going to be my thing.<br/>
"Wow," Silena laughed, "No one except Clarisse gets that excited to be in here."<br/>
I was going to ask who Clarisse was, she sounded like fun if she liked this room, but I was distracted by some weapons in the corner. </p><p>I made my way carefully over there. I moved a few daggers and swords off of a pile and pulled out a dusty bow.<br/>
"Huh," Silena grunted, "I didn't know that was in here. Usually, only the Hunters and Apollo's kids use a bow and arrows, but you could, too I guess."<br/>
"You... guess?" I didn't say it to be rude, but rather to verify with her that it was okay to take it. I didn't intend to make any enemies.<br/>
"Yeah, I guess. I'm not a weapons person like I said. The general rule for picking out weapons is to choose whatever feels right, whatever feels best."<br/>
I considered this for a moment. "What did you pick?" I asked.<br/>
She looked surprised that I wanted to know. I looked at her expectantly, and she cleared her throat before responding.<br/>
"I, uh, I chose a sword," she mumbled, "but I don't use it, like, ever and I barely know how to fight."<br/>
I smiled. "That's okay," I said, trying to be encouraging, "It's never too late to start learning. Plus, I'm sure you will be great. You've got a protective spirit."<br/>
"I... do?"<br/>
"Yes. Although, now that I think about it I can't exactly place how I can determine that... but I know it's true."<br/>
"Thanks, Bianca. No one here really thinks Aphrodite is good for anything besides looking pretty and kissing well."<br/>
I rolled my eyes. "Nonsense! Love comes in all different fits and sizes, as my mom used to say, it's different for every person and circumstance. You can have a love for camp, and want to protect it."<br/>
Silena didn't look too convinced, but I was sure she would come around.<br/>
"I'm picking the bow," I decided. </p><p>We walked out of the armory, and I blew the dust off of the bow. Under the dirt and grime, it was a beautiful bronze that seemed to glow. I loved it.<br/>
"Well, this is the end of the tour," Silena said, "You should probably go back to the cabin and introduce yourself to the Stolls. But, then again, you could also go canoeing, or climb the lava wall, or anything else really. Knock yourself out."<br/>
I hugged her and kissed both her cheeks, giving her a proper Italian farewell.<br/>
"Thanks."<br/>
She smiled, turned, and began jogging back to the BIg House.<br/>
"Wait. Silena!"<br/>
She stopped and faced me.<br/>
"Do you know where I can get any arrows?"<br/>
She grinned.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>again, this chapter takes place just after the last one<br/>Also, you meet Heidi in this chapter. She's a character I created as a daughter of Apollo because I figured Kayla would be too young, but I wanted a girl to help Bianca with archery, and the Hunters leave after the quest does.<br/>also, just as an fyi, the archery instructions are based off of what I learned in my one archery class i took a few years ago, so they might not be the most accurate</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>for the purpose of the story, Phoebe will be accompanying Zoe, Thalia, and Grover on the quest. Percy still tags along. I also do not remember any details of when they left or when Percy followed them, so I am just making it where they leave midday and Percy follows just after dinner, using his and Grover's empathy link to find them. Again, I have NO IDEA if this is what happens (it's been a while and I don't own the book and my library is closed)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Silena directed me to the Apollo cabin to get some practice arrows since his kids are the only ones that usually practice shooting. It was then, as I was walking up to the gigantic golden structure when I realized that it was warm outside. I don't know why I hadn't realized it earlier, but it was the middle of December and this whole place was warm. I only realized this because I heard a few kids inside the cabin singing a Christmas song. It was one I had never heard, but I was pretty sure "Jingle Bell Rock" wasn't a song for year-round. I was confused further by this discovery. It was definitely at least 50 out, but it was only like a week until Christmas. Where was this place? I was pretty sure New York, which is where I was told it was, wasn't this hot in December.  </p><p>I moved to knock on the door and prayed that I wouldn't have the same situation as I did at the Big House. Luckily, I did not. A girl about my age opened the door. She was a few inches taller than me, had big brown eyes and strawberry blonde hair. She was very pretty.<br/>"Can I help you?" she asked, smiling.<br/>I could still hear the music blasting from inside, louder than before.<br/>"Yes, could I have some practice arrows, please? I can return them when I am finished." I tried to speak up so she could hear me.<br/>She held up one finger and turned back into the cabin. She shouted something, but I couldn't make it out. She waited a few seconds, and then turned back, frustrated. I moved back as the girl came out of the cabin and slammed the door shut.<br/>"There," she declared, "We can hear each other now."<br/>I repeated my question.<br/>"Practice arrows? Sure," she said, but she looked kind of confused, "You're not an Apollo kid, though. Or a Hunter."<br/>"I'm..." I wasn't sure what the word for what it was. What had Silena said earlier?<br/>"I'm unclaimed," I finished.<br/>The girl nodded her head. "I get that, I only got claimed last week."<br/>This girl seemed nice, and I needed friends, so I stuck out my hand.<br/>"I'm Bianca," I said.<br/>She took my hand and smiled.<br/>"Heidi."</p><p>Heidi went inside for a few minutes and came out with two quivers of arrows. She had invited me in, but warned that her half-brothers were busy recreating "That scene from Mean Girls". I had no idea what that was, but I decided to stay outside. We made our way to the practice area and set up some targets.<br/>"You might be an Apollo kid," she told me.<br/>"Really?"<br/>"Sure. Most Apollo kids are really good at archery. And pretty much any projectile. Basketballs, throwing knives, throwing axes. You name it, I could probably throw it."<br/>"That's awesome," I said in awe, "but I don't even know if I'm good yet."<br/>She laughed. "I'm sure you will be. No one comes out of the armory with a bow unless they're good at shooting."<br/>With that, she pulled an arrow out of the quiver, nocked in her bow, and fired it. It hit the left of the big yellow circle, right on the line between yellow and red.<br/>"Dang it!" she shouted, "I knew I was rusty."<br/>She began to nock another arrow. <br/>"What?" I gasped, "That was great, you got in the middle!"<br/>Heidi snorted. "You should see me when I've actually been keeping up with my practice."<br/>She shot the arrow, and it landed right next to the first one.<br/>She cursed and continued firing.<br/>I decided that it was my cue to start. Heidi wasn't concerned with teaching me how to do it, but I don't think that was out of rudeness. She kept looking at me out of the corner of her eye. I was pretty sure she thought I could do it by myself. That, or she was trying to see if I was a true Apollo kid. </p><p>I nocked the arrow, just like she did, and brought the bow up to my face. I pulled the string back, aimed, and fired.<br/>It hit the white.<br/>"Nice!" Heidi had stopped shooting to watch me. "You got white on your very first try, and you said that you'd never touched a bow. That was pretty impressive."<br/>I shot another arrow, and it hit white again. This time Heidi came over and corrected my grip on the string.<br/>"Don't use all your fingers," she instructed, "use the middle three, and put one on top of the arrow, and two on the bottom."<br/>I took her advice and hit black this time.</p><p>We continued to practice. After I hit the blue ring, Heidi went back to practicing on her target. I soon got into the rhythm of things. Nock, aim, fire, nock, aim, fire. Then retrieve the arrows when I was out. I don't even remember how long I practiced, but I was going to do it until I hit the yellow, whether it was a bullseye or not. Heidi stayed with me the whole time, giving me pointers and cheering when I made a good hit. <br/>Then, finally, after who knows how long, I got the arrow into the yellow. It was barely there, but I had made it. I shouted in joy and turned to face Heidi, who was jumping up and down and cheering.<br/>"Oh my gods!" she yelled, "I've never seen someone so dedicated! That was great Bianca, really."<br/>"I sure thought so."<br/>Heidi and I both spun around. </p><p>At some point, I drew an audience, though I didn't know it at the time. A few Hunters and snuck up behind me to watch. I'm not sure how long they were there, but I suspected it had been a short while. The Hunter who had spoken introduced herself as Phoebe. I remembered her from the tent where Artemis offered me a position in the Hunters.<br/>"That was pretty impressive, Bianca," she praised, "You would be valuable to the Hunters. I know you were hesitant at first, but we would be lucky to have you. Especially since you don't need much teaching in archery."<br/>I was stunned into silence. An immortal Hunter of Artemis, a goddess of archery, was praising me? She thought I was good? I managed to stutter out a "Thank you".<br/>"You're welcome," she replied, "I need to go find Lady Artemis, but when I return from my quest, I'll ask you to join again. We could use you."<br/>With that, she smiled and jogged away. I was stunned to receive so much praise. <br/>"She's right," Heidi said, "You are good. Most demigods have ADD or ADHD, so they don't have the patience to shoot arrows. Well, except my siblings and I. If you aren't my sister, I am going to be shocked."<br/>She also looked sad when she said it, though I wasn't sure why. <br/>"Come on, you definitely need some rest. You've been nonstop for a while."<br/>We went back to the cabins. I gave her the quiver of arrows back.<br/>"We'll get you some arrows of your own. Let me talk to Michael, and I'll get back to you tomorrow, okay?"<br/>I nodded and thanked her again. </p><p>The Hermes cabin wasn't far from Apollo's but it was as I was walking there that I realized: Nico.<br/>I didn't know where he was. I hadn't checked upon him. It had been at least a couple of hours since he left to go on his camp tour. <br/>I began to panic. Running into the Hermes cabin rather than walking, I almost trampled a boy on the floor.<br/>"Sorry!" I breathed, looking around frantically.<br/>The cabin was very crowded, people were sleeping on the floor, but it seemed lacking in eleven-year-old Italian demigods. <br/>"Is Nico here?" I asked. Everyone looked confused as if they had never heard his name before. I took a deep breath. "He's eleven, has dark hair like mine, about this high-" I put my hand next to my body to show them, "and asks a lot of questions. He's wearing a- a-". It occurred to me that I didn't know what he was wearing, but I ended up not needing the information.<br/>"Oh, the little one that played cards with Robbie? He had dark hair," one of the tall boys on a bunk bed mentioned.<br/>"Yes!" I practically shouted, "Where is he?"<br/>"Uh..." the boy scratched behind his ear, "He turned to the boy next to him, his brother, probably, and asked, "Do you know, Travis? I know he was with Robbie."<br/>The other boy, Travis, looked up at the ceiling and crossed his arms in thought. "Maybe they went to the dining pavilion. You know how Robbie likes his snacks."<br/>The dining pavilion. Fantastic. I had a place to start. I thanked the boys in a rush and ran out of the cabin.  </p><p>I paused on the step leading into the door to gather my thoughts. I took a few deep breaths, then began to walk. <br/>"You can come out now, Nico." I heard from inside the cabin. I froze. Was I getting... played?<br/>I burst back into the cabin. Sure enough, Nico was crawling out from under the bunk those boys were on.<br/>"B-Bianca!" he stammered as he saw me. <br/>I grabbed him by the ear and pulled him out, shouting at him. <br/>"Era solo uno scherzo," he muttered. <br/>It wasn't until he had responded that I realized I had been yelling in Italian.<br/>I turned and directed my anger at Travis and his brother. <br/>When I had finished shouting, Travis said, "I told you this was a bad idea, Connor. She's an Italian mother. You can't-"<br/>"She isn't his mom!" Connor defended.<br/>"Well, she may as-"<br/>"Stop it!" I shouted. <br/>They were giving me a headache. I didn't come here to listen to them argue, I came here to get Nico. I faced my little brother and put my hands on his shoulders. Before I could say anything, he blurted out, "You always treat me like a baby! I don't need you all the time!" <br/>I knew I would hate what I was about to say because Mamma used to say it to me all the time and I hated it, but I said it anyway.<br/>"If I treated you like a baby, I wouldn't have let you go on the camp tour by yourself."<br/>"But you never let me go anywhere without telling me where you are!"<br/>I lowered my voice and spoke the next part in Italian so the others wouldn't understand. "That's because I don't want to lose you like we did Mamma. I will give you more freedom since this is a safe place where monsters can't come, but I need you to not hide from me and trust me, okay?"<br/>We came to a silent agreement as he nodded. </p><p>Connor and Travis hopped down from the bunkbeds. Travis walked to a closet, and Connor made his way toward us. <br/>"I'm sorry," he muttered, "But it was his idea." By "his idea" he meant Nico's, but I knew that already. <br/>"I know," I sighed, "thank you for trying to help him, even if it was in the wrong way."<br/>Travis returned from the closet with a sleeping bag and Ziploc full of toiletries. "This should last you a week or two, but you can get more in the Camp Store if you need some."<br/>I thanked him, and a loud chiming came from outside. <br/>"Dinner!" the kids shouted in unison. <br/>I followed the crowd out to the dining pavilion.</p><p>Dinner was great. I could have whatever I wanted just by asking my plate. I was going to get pasta like Mamma used to make, but I didn't trust the plate to do it correctly, so I had pizza. It was much better than the one we had at boarding school. <br/>Dinner was a somber event for other cabins, though. The Athena cabin seemed very upset. I wasn't sure why until someone told me that that was Annabeth's cabin, and she was their counselor. The Poseidon table was also depressing since it was just Percy and he was angry the whole time. He was kind of scary with that brooding look on his face. The weirdest part of dinner was when my cup exploded. I had a glass of water, and it just... exploded. <br/>I wasn't the only one. It happened to the rest of the room, too. To anyone with water. <br/>"Sorry," Percy muttered from his table. That's when I realized that his emotions had caused the water to go crazy, considering he was the water god's son. He left his table after that and walked away, towards the cabins. I told Nico to stay here and go back with the Hermes cabin. Then, I followed Percy.</p><p>He went to his cabin. I wasn't sure he would want to talk to me since it was my fault his friend went missing, but I decided to try. He left his cabin with a backpack on and I intercepted him. <br/>"Bianca?" he said, surprised, "What are you doing?"<br/>"You seemed upset, and I wanted to make sure you were okay."<br/>"I'm fine," he mumbled as he pushed past me.<br/>"What are you doing?" I asked carefully. I didn't want him running off and doing something reckless.<br/>"Nothing," he said. I didn't believe him.<br/>"You're going to go find Annabeth aren't you?"<br/>He stopped. "And Artemis."<br/>"Right," I said, "I'm not going to stop you, but please be careful, okay? I can't have another missing person on my conscience."<br/>He looked confused about my comment but chose not to mention it.<br/>"Thank you," he said earnestly, "Can you play dumb and not tell anyone that I've left?"<br/>"Sure."<br/>He grinned at me and jogged away.<br/>Perhaps it was stupid of me to let him go, but I knew that if it was Nico who had gone missing, I would have wanted someone to do the same for me. <br/>Plus, I was pretty sure Percy Jackson would be able to handle himself.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>if someone reading this (probably no one lol) could comment what happens at the end of BotL, that would be fantastic. I forget a lot of the details of the battle (That's at the end, right?) and I'm gonna need them in a few chapters.</p><p>Thanks</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>alrighty, folks. it's the moment you've all been waiting for (aka no one lol). Here's where things actually change based on Bianca not dying, The first few chapters of this was from an idea I had had a few months ago and wrote down and saved in a google doc before editing and posting here. So that was kinda to give everyone a feel of who Bianca would be friends with, what she would be like if she went to CHB. The reason I didn't have her join the Hunters was to solely keep her alive for now. I thought it would be dumb if she just "didn't die" on the quest, so I changed that. With that being said, there are only a few moments in the series that her being alive would change, so I chose those. There's also going to be quite a bit of Bianca exploring camp and discovering herself. This is for two reasons. 1 is so that we can explore her character because we never got that in the actual books, and 2 is so that she will end up joining the Hunters.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>we start after Percy, Annabeth, and Grover come back from the quest. I don't remember the details of them returning, only that Nico had gotten upset because Bianca was dead, and that obviously doesn't happen here. So I skipped ahead to the day after they come back, and Annabeth spent the night in the infirmary.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Nock, aim, fire. Nock, aim, fire.<br/>I was practicing archery again, in the open fields near the practice arena. There were some Apollo kids shooting arrows a little farther down, but I had purposefully set up away from them. It was easier to focus that way. The only problem with that was I was closer to the other practice spaces. Specifically, one of the sparring courts. That was okay, I figured because if I had to defend myself it wasn't like I would have perfect silence to focus in.<br/>My third arrow it a bullseye. I had only been at camp for... three or four days, maybe even five, but I was already pretty good at archery. Tomorrow I had plans to shoot from farther away. Again, in the event of needing to defend myself, I wouldn't be this same distance away.<br/>The fourth arrow hit red, and the fifth in the yellow again, though not a bullseye.<br/>"You're pretty good," a voice said from behind me.<br/>A few yards away, Annabeth was sitting on a bench near the sparring court. She was putting on armor.<br/>"Thank you," I replied.<br/>I shot one more arrow and walked over to her. It had only been less than a day since she got back, and she had spent the night in the infirmary. Was she okay to start practicing again?<br/>I voiced my concern. Annabeth stood up, yanked a final strap on her armor, and said, "I've been doing this since I was seven."<br/>I blushed. "Well, I know." It was true. Annabeth was kind of a legend here. "I'm not suggesting you can't fight. I'm just wondering about your wounds. I mean, you did hold up the sky."<br/>She considered this for a moment. "Yeah," she shrugged, "but that doesn't mean I can't practice."<br/>"Okay then," I said. I knew Annabeth had a reputation for not wanting to seem weak, so I let the topic drop and cursed myself for being so pushy. It was just the big sister in me that wanted to make sure every person I met was okay.<br/>Annabeth went to put her curly mess of hair into a ponytail, but she winced and rubbed her shoulder.<br/>"Do you need help?" I asked.<br/>"No," she snapped. <br/>I knew what kind of game she was playing. It was the I'm-so-tough-I-don't-need-help attitude. I knew it well. I wore it often at boarding school.<br/>I straddled the bench and faced her. "I won't tell anyone you needed help with your hair," I promised, "I just want to help. Sort of to make up for you getting kidnapped when trying to rescue me."<br/>She rolled her eyes. "Percy told me you'd apologize for that. It's fine, seriously. It would have happened no matter if I had gone to rescue you or not. All he needed me to do was leave camp. That just happened to be convenient timing. As for my hair..." She trailed off as she considered. "I guess that would be fine. I can just tell people you asked to do it."<br/>I smiled at her. If she needed to hide her weakness behind a wall, it wouldn't last for long. It was too exhausting. <br/>"Dutch or French braid?" I asked.<br/>"There are different types of braids?" she replied.<br/>"Haha," I teased, "I know you knew that. Silena told me as much."<br/>She rolled her eyes, playfully this time. "I don't care."<br/>So I decided to do a French braid so that we would match.</p><p>While I did it, Annabeth gave me some advice. <br/>"You know," she started, "You should probably practice different positions."<br/>"Hmm?"<br/>"Well, I'm not an archer by any means, but I do consider myself to be a strategist, and the best strategy to be prepared for anything is to practice for any situation. So you should shoot a the target on your knees, or with your non-dominant hand or something. That way you're extra prepared."<br/>I stayed silent as I considered her information. It was good advice, although I wasn't sure I was ready for that, with only a few days' practice. <br/>"Sorry," she blurted, "Percy's always telling me how that stuff sounds. I didn't mean-"<br/>"No, no," I interrupted, "I get it. It was supposed to be helpful advice. And it is. That's really smart. Thank you."<br/>Annabeth blushed with pride, and I finished her hair.<br/>"Wow," she admitted, "that's much better than I could have ever done. Thanks. <br/>I smiled. "No problem."<br/>She smiled back and grabbed her dagger.<br/>I pitied whoever her opponent was.</p><p>Later that night, Nico and I were walking along with one of the trails in the woods, having some sibling bonding time. <br/>"Are you making any friends?" I asked him. That had never been one of his strong suits. He always seemed to push people away when they got close to him. I had never understood it, because he was the one who initiated the friendship, asking all of his questions.<br/>"I guess," he sighed, "but I don't know."<br/>"What about Percy?" I asked, "You know him, don't you? I saw him helping you on the climbing wall today."<br/>Nico's eyes went wide, and he looked panicked. "H-he was just teaching me," he stammered, "We're not f-friends."<br/>I gave him my I-am-not-falling-for-that smile. "It's okay, Nico. I'm not going to get upset if you start spending time with your friends and not me. You are a kid, you know."<br/>"You are, too," he argued, "but you spend all your time taking care of me."<br/>I kissed his head. What he said was true, but I wasn't going to admit that to him. I didn't need him feeling like a burden. "Not all of my time, Nico. I have friends, and I practice archery every day."<br/>"Yeah, but other than that you help me practice, or watch me practice, or do other things with me."<br/>"Well, that's because I love you and want to spend time with you." That was true... but it excluded the other side of those thoughts. I did love Nico, but I also counted down the minutes until I could escape to archery practice. I never left him alone, only with other people. I felt safe here, safer than at boarding school, but I still didn't fully trust this place. There were monsters in the forest, and everybody had a sword on them at all times. It was scary. </p><p>"No," he snapped, getting angry, "it's because you think I need you watching me all the time."<br/>"Nico, don't-"<br/>"See? You treat me like your kid. You aren't Mamma, Bianca. I don't need you."<br/>I was getting angry. How dare he tell me I am not Mamma? I know that. I'm the closest thing he has to a mother. <br/>"It's my job to take care of you? Who else will?'<br/>"I WILL!" he shouted. There was a group of people a little farther ahead on the path that looked back at us. <br/>"You're just a kid, Nico, you can't-"<br/>"The hell I can't!" <br/>"Watch. Your. Mouth." <br/>I got very quiet and very angry. I didn't know where this outburst had come from, but I did not like the person it had replaced my brother with. <br/>"You cannot take care of yourself Nico, you need me."<br/>"I don't! There are kids here who had no one when they were even younger than I am!"<br/>"Well, they-"<br/>"They aren't any different Bianca! You just want me to need you! You want all the kids to make fun of me because I can't do anything without my sister!"<br/>"People are saying that?" My anger dissipated for a moment.<br/>"Yeah," Nico snapped, "and it's all your fault."</p><p>I threw my hands in the air. What did he want from me? I wasn't ready to let him run around all on his own. And yeah, maybe I wanted him to need me. He was the only family I had left. I didn't want him to die and leave me with no one! What would I do then?<br/>"What do you want from me, Nico?" I shouted, "What do you want?"<br/>"Nothing," he spat, "I want nothing from you. If you won't let me do things by myself and be my own person and keep from being the laughingstock of camp, then I'll find someone who will."<br/>I laughed at that, and, yes, it was cruel of me. "Really, Nico? Who? I'm your only family! I'm the only one who is in charge of you."<br/>His eyes glimmered, but I couldn't tell if it was from tears or anger.<br/>"I'm going to find our father, Bianca, and you can't stop me."<br/>He shocked me into silence. He didn't even know who it was! Plus, it was a god. It wasn't like they would be too concerned with their bastard mortal children. </p><p>I was shaken from my stupor when Nico began to jog away. "I know who it is, Bianca! I figured it out while you were to busy being all in my business!"<br/>Then, he began running into the thick of the woods. I sprinted to catch up. "Nico, wait!"<br/>"No, Bianca, go away!"<br/>"But Nico-"<br/>"GO AWAY!" He screamed and the ground erupted at his feel. Hundreds of... things crawled out of the ground. They looked like corpses. They clawed their way toward me. Nico's eyes were huge.<br/>"Wha-what did I do?" he yelled, "What did I do?" <br/>He panicked and ran deeper into the woods. I moved to follow him, but the army of undead stopped me. I took the bow off my back and loaded an arrow. I didn't have enough to fight them all off.<br/>I decided to just push them. It was stupid but would be faster.</p><p>To my surprise, they moved around me. I didn't even need to touch them, they just parted around me. I ran through them, and they made a path for me to go through. I had no idea what was going on, but I didn't have time to worry. I needed to get Nico.<br/>I was almost to the end of the "path" when all of the zombie-things disappeared. I didn't take time to wonder why, though maybe I should have. </p><p>"NICO!" I shouted, running into the woods where he had disappeared from my sight, "NICO!"<br/>I didn't see him and had made it to the end of the forest. I could see camp from here. I hoped he decided to grab supplies from the Hermes cabin before leaving, and I still had time to catch him.<br/>I checked the cabin. He wasn't there. I checked the bathrooms and shower house. No Nico. I ran back to the dining pavilion. It didn't occur to me to ask anyone for help. I was too distraught. I needed to find him. </p><p>I tripped on my way back into the woods. I got up and began running again. I tripped. Again. The third time I tripped, someone caught me. It was Percy.<br/>"Bianca," he said calmly, "You need to calm down. What is going on? There was a group of campers that said you and Nico had gotten distressed and ran off the trail. Then you started sprinting around camp like a madwoman."<br/>I was hyperventilating, but I tried to push him away.<br/>"I need to find him," I managed.<br/>"Find who?" Percy demanded, tightening his grip on me.<br/>I could hear the footsteps of other people running to where we were, but I didn't care. I needed to find my brother. <br/>"Nico," I gasped, "Let me go. Ineedtofindhim." <br/>I managed enough strength to break free of Percy's grip and stumbled into the woods again. This time, it was Heidi who caught me. <br/>"Bianca. You are going to pass out," she said, We've all been chasing you around camp. You sprinted from here, to camp, and back. You need to relax, seriously."<br/>Some part of me knew she was right and that I should take her advice. Another part of me disregarded her voice altogether.<br/>"No, no," I mumbled, "I need to get him he's gonna leave and get hurt I need-"  </p><p>And then I was running. I don't know if my dad had given me strength or if I summoned it myself, but I ran as hard as I could into the forest, into the night.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>yes, we finally got to where Nico leaves camp and becomes an outsider!! I didn't want to, but I had to keep it in the plot since it is essential to the actual series' plot</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>bianca passed out in the forest after looking for nico. she wakes up in the infirmary. Silena is there because I want them to be friends, okay?</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The last thing I remembered was running through the forest, calling for my brother. I did not remember getting here, to the infirmary. When I woke up, Silena was sitting next to my hospital bed. I figured that if she was here, she had to have news. I bolted upright.<br/>"Did you find him?"<br/>She winced, and I knew it was bad news.<br/>"We checked all night, Bianca. He isn't there."<br/>I got out of bed. "He has to be. How could he have just left? No one saw him leave the forest. He must be hiding there."<br/>"Bianca... he isn't there. Chiron prayed to the gods and..."<br/>"And what?" I demanded.<br/>"And they told him that Nico had left, and he needed to let Nico go."<br/>"What? Why would they say that?"<br/>"I don't know."<br/>I could tell that Silena was upset by this news too. I figured that they sent Silena to tell me the news because she was the best with people. I burst into tears.<br/>"Where did he go?" I sobbed, "Why did he go?"<br/>"I don't know," she whispered, hugging me, "I don't know."<br/>We sat like that for a while, before I disentangled myself and wiped away my tears. <br/>"There is good news, though."<br/>That sparked my interest. What possible good news could there be?<br/>"What is it?"<br/>"You," she said. <br/>"Me?"<br/>"Yes!" she enthused, "You are here! You're okay, and when Nico comes back, you'll still be here to welcome him with open arms."<br/>I didn't really see this as good news, but I appreciated her trying to help.</p><p>I had missed breakfast. Apparently I had run off into the woods, and no one could find me for two hours. They didn't know how or why that had happened since people had followed me right after, but it did. I was passed out on the ground from exhaustion. I was pretty overdue on some sleep. Silena took me to the dining pavilion for 'brunch'. <br/>That's when it happened.</p><p>I was sitting there, enjoying my crepe, when Silena stood up and screamed. She was looking in terror at something behind me. I spun around and in an instant had my bow in my hands, arrow nocked. There was a huge cloud of black rising over the amphitheater. I could hear the screams of campers from here.<br/>I bolted down the hill as fast as I could. I sprinted the whole way, keeping my eyes on the dark pool of black. Silena stumbled after me.<br/>When we got there, all of camp had gathered underneath the swirling mass. <br/>Right before our eyes, a huge, beautiful black chariot pulled by skeletal horses emerged from the cloud. At the helm stood a god, pale and dressed in black robes.<br/>The crowd went silent. Fear surged through me. Whoever this god was, I did not want him to notice me. He was terrifying.<br/>He parked his chariot and Chiron bowed.<br/>"Lord Hades," he said solemnly, "It's a pleasure."<br/>As if being snapped out of a trance, all the campers began to bow and kneel. I felt Silena shift beside me. Eventually, there were only two people standing: me, and Percy Jackson. I wanted to bow, I didn't want to stick out so much, but an invisible force held me up. For Percy, it was not the same case. He chose to remain standing by free will. Annabeth, who was next to him, grabbed his hand and pulled on it, encouraging him to kneel. He waved her hand away. I wasn't sure what bad blood was between him and Hades, but I didn't want to know.</p><p>The Lord of the Dead exited his chariot. He moved toward Percy Jackson, a snarl on his face. Percy glared back. Did that boy have a death wish? As I wondered that thought, something appeared in front of me, but I couldn't scream. It was one of the things Nico had summoned last night... an event I hadn't told anyone about. The corpse grabbed my wrist and pulled me forward through the crowd. I heard Silena gasp behind me, but she did nothing to stop it. I couldn't blame her. <br/>Hades said something to Percy, who argued back to him. Hades growled and a crowd of those corpse warrior things burst out of the ground. Percy gulped, but grabbed a... pen from his pocket? What was he going to do with a pen? I didn't find out, because Hades snarled, "Watch this one!" and turned to face me. </p><p>I probably looked like I was going to puke because Hades took off his helmet. I immediately felt better. Still scared, but better. <br/>He had a loving look on his face- well, a loving look for the Lord of the Underworld- and gently grabbed my face between his hands.<br/>"Bianca," he sighed, "You look so much like your mother."<br/>That's when I realized- Hades was my father. My dad was the ruler of the Underworld. So many things made sense- why I could tell what kind of 'spirit' Silena had, why I had bben able to move past the undead Nico had summoned.<br/>Hades let go of my face and turned back to the crowd of demigods. "Bianca di Angelo is my daughter," he announced, "and so is the other one, the one that left. Nico, it was."<br/>"Hail, Bianca di Angelo, daughter of Hades, Lord of the Dead, and Ruler of the Underworld!" Chiron declared.<br/>A chorus of "Hail"s reverberated throughout the amphitheater. <br/>Heidi had told me that most claiming were just a symbol of the god appearing over the head. Why was Hades here, in person?<br/>"We are most honored for your visit," Chiron told my father.<br/>"Yes, I'm sure," he said, looking at Percy and curling his lip.<br/>"Can I inquire as to why you have come beside to claim Bianca as your daughter?"<br/>Hades walked back to his chariot. "Hmm... no other reason really. I had planned to wait until summer, you see because then Persephone wouldn't have been in the Underworld with me, but the boy's foolishness caused me to need to claim my children now... The only reason I am here, rather than just sending the message is for two reasons: One, I want to wait as long as possible before I hear my wife's wrath, and two, I want to make Zeus sweat."<br/>With that, he grabbed the reins of his chariot.<br/>"Oh yes, one more thing."<br/>He waved his hand in the air like he was swatting away a bug and snapped.<br/>"You needed a cabin for Bianca. Hope you like the decor!" <br/>Then he flicked the reins and flew back into the swirling cloud, which promptly disappeared.</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>OK, so last part she was claimed, and that part was kinda hard for me to figure out. I wanted to make him show up at camp because I feel like that is something he would do to make Zeus get nervous and also because he really loves Bianca. I think so at least, we all saw how he was when she died in the original.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I did not like the decor. The brand-new Hades cabin, made by Hades himself, was beautiful, but way too stereotypical for me. The whole structure was black marble, with Greek fire sconces lining the outside. The front of it looked like a memorial in Washington, D.C. There were huge black columns (a rather Roman style, rather than Greek. I thought that was funny considering how the Roman empire was dead and the Greek one was not... in a sense.) Then came the ebony door, that same wall lined with sconces. There was a large onyx knocker on the door, shaped like Cerberus. The inside of the cabin was made of the same marble. It was a large empty room, for the most part. There wasn't a bunk, but rather a huge king-sized black four-poster on the back wall. The bed had a black headboard lined in gold and a golden comforter. There was a (black) nightstand to the right of the bed and a (black) wardrobe to the left. A golden, full-length mirror with a very intricate floral frame hung on the wall next to the nightstand. Everything against the back wall and there was only four things in the entire huge room. The solid black curtains were drawn, and the only source of light was the obnoxiously extravagant chandelier hanging from the ceiling. <br/>The entire thing screamed 'elegance' to me, but it was too much for me. The only other places I had lived in the recent past were a hotel and a boarding school, so I had kind of gotten used to the simplistic way of life. This was way too much opulence. Plus, the whole cabin just oozed Hades' vibes. It was black, and the steps leading up to it were engraved with skulls and bones. Plus, it was so dark and gloomy.</p><p>After my dad had left, Chiron whispered to me to go find the new cabin, and he would be there to talk to me after he instructed the campers on what to do next. So, here I went. I grabbed my few belongings from the Hermes cabin and brought them to my new home. I think the thing that bothered me most about the cabin was that there was just one bed. Hades hadn't even bothered to put one for Nico. I didn't mind sleeping in the same bed as Nico (it was usually like that anyway) but I was upset because I knew it would have taken the god two seconds to make one. He just hadn't even bothered. I held back my tears and walked toward the bed. I put my bag of stuff on the nightstand and crawled into bed. The sheets were black and had little designs of skulls on them. <br/>I picked up a pillow next to me and threw it across the room as I screamed. How could Hades be my dad? How did Mamma, the brightest and most loving person ever, fall in love with the coldest and darkest god on Olympus? I took everything off of the bed and threw it, cursing at the sky in Italian. Nico was gone, Mamma was dead, and my father was the god of the dead. I was alone in this cold, dark, dreary excuse of a home. </p><p>I don't know how long I spent on the floor before Chiron got there. It couldn't have been very long since he came straight from the amphitheater. He knocked on the door, a big loud BOOM that echoed through the room. The door opened on its own. <br/>I got up from the floor and faced the centaur.<br/>"Well," he announced, "It's certainly very Hades."<br/>I laughed at that. That was my first thought when I came in for the first time. <br/>Chiron told me to sit down because he had something to tell me. <br/>He told me the same story Silena had, days before: how my dad, Percy's dad, and Thalia's dad made a pact not to have children to avoid war... etc., etc.<br/>His point in telling me the story was to point out that Nico and I could be the children of the prophecy. I had already thought about this and dismissed the idea. I had enough to worry about with Nico being missing, and this would only happen if Percy died before the summer after next. <br/>I told this to Chiron and expected him to criticize that thought. To my surprise, he just looked out the window grimly. <br/>"I shouldn't be telling you this, Bianca," he said, "but I do not think you are the child of the prophecy. I believe that Percy is. There's just so much about him that tells me that. I don't know if anyone has told you about Luke, but Percy was targeted by Luke in his first few weeks at camp, and I think Luke's choice set Percy's fate in stone."</p><p>I let what he said set in. I knew who Luke was. He was the villain of this story, so to say. Luke had chosen Percy as the child unintentionally: Percy was the most immediate threat to him, or rather, to Kronos, and by trying to keep Percy from becoming the prophecy's hero, he had made him into it. The concept reminded me of Harry Potter. (And yes, I have read Harry Potter. A girl at boarding school let me borrow the books). <br/>"I think I get it," I said to Chiron, "but why are you telling me this?"<br/>He paused and considered what he was going to say. <br/>"I'm not sure," he admitted, "but I don't want you to worry about the prophecy affecting Nico. Your big sister instincts, while helpful, are also very powerful."<br/>I blushed. I was pretty sure he was referring to my outburst last night. Which reminded me...<br/>"Silena told me the gods told you that Nico was okay, but we shouldn't go looking for him. What was that about?"<br/>"It was the Fates themselves who told that to me. They said that Nico was essential to the prophecy in some way and that I couldn't mess with it."<br/>I panicked. He decided to reassure me that Nico wasn't THE child of THE prophecy, but then told me that he was still an important part? That wasn't much reassurance. <br/>"Can I talk to him? There has to be a way to do it. If he's going to die-"<br/>"I never said he would die!" Chiron interrupted.<br/>"Well, he is part of the prophecy, isn't he? He's likely to die."<br/>Chiron was silent, so I figured my statement was true. I wasn't as terrified by the idea of Nico dying as I was this morning. If our dad was the god of the dead, he could bring Nico back if he died. He would have to. Nico is his son, after all.<br/>"How can I contact him?" I repeated.<br/>"I can't let you," Chiron admitted sheepishly, "the Fates said that if you speak to him before he's ready, he will just come running back to camp, and Olympus will be doomed."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>yes, that line about the roman empire being dead was supposed to be ironic</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>we start after Chiron has left. Bianca has recruited Heidi to help her redecorate her room using some stuff they found at the camp store, and stuff the Hephestus kids made. It's the same day as her claiming, just late afternoon</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"I didn't even know camp had this stuff," Heidi said.<br/>We had gone to the camp store and grabbed some more colorful things for my cabin. I had a blanket that was going o be used as a rug since marble is very chilly, and a whole heap of new camp shirts. Since I had more than just a grocery bag to keep my stuff in, I figured that I might as well stock up on some more clothes. We had also gone to the arts and crafts building and grabbed a hot glue gun, fabric scraps, a sewing kit, and a bedazzler. I also borrowed a bucket of paint from the Hephaestus cabin. <br/>Heidi and I got to work. First, we tackled the bed. I wanted it to not be the same black as everything else, so we stripped the bed and painted the frame and posts. At the top of each bedpost was carved a skull. Very Hades. We left the headboard alone but painted the rest of it. While that dried, I glued and sewed some fabric scraps onto the curtains and the bedspread, and Heidi painted the wardrobe and nightstand. Eventually, we got sick of working on the furniture and decided to make other things, gifts for each other. I grabbed the hot glue gun and some sunglasses from my clothing stash. I popped ot the lenses, hot-glued a swirling design onto them, and painted them with some leftover paint. She bedazzled a baseball cap for me with a design of a bow and arrow on it. Both 'masterpieces' were kind of terrible, but we loved them all the same.<br/>It was perfect. My room was improving, and I was spending time with a good friend. </p><p>Then Percy Jackson chose to knock on the door. His presence reminded me of all the things I wanted to forget- Nico missing, the prophecy, the incoming war, etc.</p>
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